Who would you pick to play Poison Ivy?

[Gothamite]

I kinda like Marilyn Hanolds as Doe in the Liberace two-parter. Maybe she can had play a special guest in an episode...
Special Guest Villainess
MARILYN HANOLD
as
POISON IVY

or even maybe Joan Collins as her, hmm ?

[Bob]

Its a costume role, any actress that looks good in leotards can play the part. I love those creative names for the henchmen

[epaddon]

Um, no any actress who looks good can not play the part. You still need to have certain acting ability and other characteristics that go beyond looking good. I can think of dozens of actresses who might "look good" in the costume but who would be horrible casting based on a number of factors such as (1) wrong look. Poison Ivy should not for instance be a blonde bombshell (2) is the actress experienced enough, or does she have the right level of maturity for the part? With all due respect to Gothamite, Marilyn Hanold was nothing more than a Playboy centerfold whose entire "acting" career consisted of bit part window dressing and for a part like this, I think having some basic thespian talent and the ability to handle dialogue is at least called for.

Costume parts, especially larger than life roles require more than just a pretty face to be done justice on film.

[Todd Smitts]

Costume parts, especially larger than life roles require more than just a pretty face to be done justice on film.

Indeed. I can name a couple of movies (including a couple of of Batman movies) that learned that lesson the hard way.

[LittleLouisGroovy]

Don't know if there are any Dark Shadows fans on this board, but one of the cast members -- Marie Wallace -- might have been interesting as Poison Ivy.

[Aussie Batfan]

Hi guys,
Great topic to speculate on!
I'd like to throw another name into the mix - Lee Remick, a redheaded fantastic actress who would have been just over thirty at the time of the show.
One very sexy and smart lady!
Thanks,
Terry

[BATWINGED HORNET]

She doesn't make another appearance until 1969 and then doesn't appear again until 8 years later in 1977.

Interesting. Funny thing is, even during the Filmation series of '68-'69, she could not make the cut there--even as a one shot, while gimmicky, pointless characters like "Simon the Pieman" were added to the rogue's gallery. Personally, if I produced the show, Poison Ivy would have been a character I thought light years ahead in visual interest over "Simon," and she was not too dark or freaky for late 60's cartoons (other adventure toons of the period had villains more dangerous and/or strange than her) , so its not like she was over the top.

[John Mack]

Signalman, The Spook and Doctor Double-X made many more appearances than her by the time the show was in production. Why not them?

I agree completely. I would add to that list Eclipso, who even had a Whitman puzzle in 1966 shown up against the Dynamic Duo.

John

[High C]

Um, no any actress who looks good can not play the part. You still need to have certain acting ability and other characteristics that go beyond looking good. I can think of dozens of actresses who might "look good" in the costume but who would be horrible casting based on a number of factors such as (1) wrong look. Poison Ivy should not for instance be a blonde bombshell (2) is the actress experienced enough, or does she have the right level of maturity for the part?

Costume parts, especially larger than life roles require more than just a pretty face to be done justice on film.

Spot-on. I can think of 30 or 40 1960s actresses who would have looked good in Siren's costume, but only a handful credibly could have sold the illusion of hypnotizing and controlling men. If that aspect isn't believable, then you're left in the starting gate and it's just a pretty actress in a nifty costume.

[jokers moll]

I know she was a star about 20 years before the show came out and may have been too old by 66, but I always thought that Rita Hayworth would have made a good Poison Ivy.

[dell]

Spot-on. I can think of 30 or 40 1960s actresses who would have looked good in Siren's costume, but only a handful credibly could have sold the illusion of hypnotizing and controlling men. If that aspect isn't believable, then you're left in the starting gate and it's just a pretty actress in a nifty costume.

Case in point is John Astin filling in Frank Gorshin's tights as the Riddler. A pretty face, but he didn't pull off the character.

Seriously though, Mr. Astin could have been a good villian if he hadn't been asked to take over an established role. He needed something more subdued than the Riddler. Something more along the lines of the Bookworm. Trying not to stray off topic too far; just using this situation as an example of the costume does not make the character.

[epaddon]

I know she was a star about 20 years before the show came out and may have been too old by 66, but I always thought that Rita Hayworth would have made a good Poison Ivy.

Yes, Rita was by then looking her age and within a few years in fact would start showing signs of the Alzheimer's disease she suffered from for the rest of her life.

There are several other names I know would have been great Poison Ivys if the character/concept had existed in the 1950s but who by the late 60s were too old for the part. Rhonda Flemming, Amanda Blake (she was a stunner when Gunsmoke debuted but by 1966 Miss Kitty was looking far too matronly), Jeanne Crain and Arlene Dahl come to mind.

Lee Grant is the oldest actress at the time who I think could have pulled it off because she was 40 who could still pass for 30 in everything she was doing (and in boosting her credentials for the part, I'd note she'd just won the Emmy for her stint on "Peyton Place" where she played a wicked lady).

[Riddler Fan]

Tina Louise is my only choice. I always suspected that Ginger had an evil side that she was dying to expose.

[Killer Moth]

My vote would have been for Stefanie Powers!

[Riddler Fan]

I think Raquel Welch would have been an interesting choice, but at the time the show debuted, she was almost an unknown. I still think Tina Louise would have been the perfect choice. She has one thing going for her aside from red hair, she's tall (5'9") and in the comics Poison Ivy is dessribed as being taller than average.